• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.79-91
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• 2019

Renewed interest in the long-term pile foundations has been driven by the increase in offshore wind turbine installation to generate renewable energy. A monopile subjected to repetitive loads experiences an evolution of displacements, pile rotation, and stress redistribution along the embedded portion of the pile. However, it is not fully understood how the embedded pile interacts with the surrounding soil elements based on different pile geometries. This study investigates the long-term soil response around offshore monopiles using finite element method. The semi-empirical numerical approach is adopted to account for the fundamental features of volumetric strain (terminal void ratio) and shear strain (shakedown and ratcheting), the strain accumulation rate, and stress obliquity. The model is tested with different strain boundary conditions and stress obliquity by relaxing four model parameters. The parametric study includes pile diameter, embedded length, and moment arm distance from the surface. Numerical results indicate that different pile geometries produce a distinct evolution of lateral displacement and stress. In particular, the repetitive lateral load increases the global lateral load resistance. Further analysis provides insight into the propagation of the shear localization from the pile tip to the ground surface.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.447-457
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• 2019

The use of Tuned mass dampers (TMD) has proved to be effective in reducing the effects of vibrations caused by wind loads and far-field seismic action. However, its effectiveness in controlling the dynamic response of structures under near-fault earthquakes is still under discussion. In this case, the uncertainty about the TMD performance arises from the short significant duration of near-fault ground motions. In this work, the TMD effectiveness for increasing the safety margin against collapse of structures subjected to near-fault earthquakes is investigated. In order to evaluate the TMD performance in the proposed scenario, the nonlinear dynamic response of two reinforced concrete (RC) frames was analyzed. TMDs with different mass values were added to these structures, and a set of near-fault records with frequency content close to the fundamental frequency of the structure was employed. Through a series of nonlinear dynamic analysis, the minimum amplitude of each seismic record that causes the structural collapse was found. By comparing this value, called collapse acceleration, for the case of the structures with and without TMD, the benefit produced by the addition of the control device was established.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.80 no.6
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• pp.677-688
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• 2021

The building design codes and standards in many countries usually are either fully or partially adopted from the international codes. However, regional conditions like the quality of construction industry and different statistical parameters of load and resistance have essential roles in the code calibration of building design codes. This paper presents a probabilistic approach to assess the reliability level of adopted national building codes by simulating design situations and considering all load combinations. The impact of the uncertainty of wind and earthquake loads, which are entirely regional condition dependent and have a high degree of uncertainty, are quantified. In this study, the design situation is modeled by generating thousands of numbers for load effect ratios, and the reliability level of steel elements for all load combinations and different load ratios is established and compared to the target reliability. This approach is applied to the Iranian structural steel code as a case study. The results indicate that the Iranian structural steel code lacks safety in some load combinations, such as gravity and earthquake load combinations, and is conservative for other load combinations. The present procedure can be applied to the assessment of the reliability level of other national codes.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.80 no.6
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• pp.711-726
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• 2021

This paper presents a multiple parameters-based recursive methodology for the reliability quantification of civil structures subjected to meteorological disasters. Recognizing the challenge associated with characterizing at a single stroke all the meteorological disasters that may hit a structure during its service life, the proposed methodology by contrast features a multiparameter recursive mechanism to describe the meteorological demand of the structure. The benefit of the arrangements is that the essentially inevitable deviation of the practically observed meteorological data from those in the existing model can be mitigated in an adaptive manner. In particular, the implications of potential climate change to the relevant reliability of civil structures are allowed for. The application of the formulated methodology of recursive reliability quantification is illustrated by first considering the reliability quantification of a linear shear frame against simulated strong wind loads. A parametric study is engaged in this application to examine the effect of some hyperparameters in the configured hierarchical model. Further, the application is extended to a nonlinear hysteretic shear frame involving some field-observed cyclone data, and the incompleteness of the relevant structural diagnosis data that may arise in reality is taken into account. Also investigated is another application scenario where the reliability of a building envelope is assessed under hailstone impacts, and the emphasis is to demonstrate the recursive incorporation of newly obtained meteorological data.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.23-30
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• 2021

In this paper, a twisted shape structure with an elevation form favorable to the resistance of vibration caused by wind loads is selected from among the forms of high-rise buildings. The analytical model is a square, triangular, and hexagonal plane with a plane rotation angle of one degree from 0 to 3 degrees per each story. As a result of the analysis, as the twist angle increased, story drift ratio is increased. Responses with different eccentricity rates were shown by analytical models. Therefore planar shapes designed symmetrically to the horizontal axis of X and Y are considered advantageous for eccentricity and torsion deformation. In the case of the bending moment of the column, the response was amplified in the column supporting the base floor, the roof floor, the floor in which the cross-section of the vertical member changes, and the floor having the same number of nodes as the base floor. Finally, the axial force response of the column is determined to be absolutely affected by the gravity load compared to the lateral load.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.585-598
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• 2022

The monopile-friction wheel hybrid foundation is an innovative solution for offshore structures which are mainly subjected to large lateral eccentric load induced by winds, waves, and currents during their service life. This paper presents an extensive numerical analysis to investigate the lateral load and moment bearing performances of hybrid foundation, considering various potential influencing factors in sand-overlaying-clay soil deposits, with the complex lateral loads being simplified into a resultant lateral load acting at a certain height above the mudline. Finite element models are generated and validated against experimental data where very good agreements are obtained. The failure mechanisms of hybrid foundations under lateral loading are illustrated to demonstrate the effect of the friction wheel in the hybrid system. Parametric study shows that the load bearing performances of the hybrid foundation is significantly dependent of wheel diameter, pile embedment depth, internal friction angle of sand, loading eccentricity (distance from the load application point to the ground level), and the thickness of upper sandy layer. Simplified empirical formulae is proposed based on the numerical results to predict the corresponding lateral load and moment bearing capacities of the hybrid foundation for design application.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.21-36
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• 2023

Structural vibrations generated by earthquakes and wind loads can be controlled by varying the structural parameters such as mass, stiffness, damping ratio, and geometry and providing a certain amount of passive or active reaction forces. A Double-Tuned Mass Dampers (DTMDs) system, which is simple and more effective than the conventional single tuned mass damper (TMD) system for vibration mitigation is presented. Two TMDs tuned to the first two natural frequencies were used to control vibrations. Experimental investigations were carried out on a three degrees-of-freedom frame model to investigate the effectiveness of DTMDs systems in controlling displacements, accelerations, and base shear. Numerical models were developed and validated against the experimental results. The validation showed a good match between the experimental and numerical results. The validated model was employed to investigate the behavior of a five degrees-of-freedom shear building structure, wherein mass dampers with different mass ratios were considered. The effectiveness of the DTMDs system was investigated for harmonic, seismic, and white noise base excitations. The proposed system was capable of significantly reducing the story displacements, accelerations, and base shears at the first and second natural frequencies, as compared to conventional single TMD.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.113-120
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• 2023

Coastal and offshore structures such as ports and offshore wind farms will often need to be built on fine-grained sediments. Geotechnical properties associated with sediment compressibility are key parameters for marine construction designs especially on soft grounds, which involve clay-mineral dominated fines that can consolidate and settle significantly in response to engineered and environmental loads. We conduct liquid limit tests and 1D consolidation tests with fine-grained soils (silica silt, mica, kaolin and bentonite) and biogenic soils (diatom). The pore fluids for the liquid limit tests include deionized water and a series of brines with NaCl salt concentrations of 0.001 m, 0.01 m, 0.1 m, 0.6 m and 2.0 m, and the pore fluids for the consolidation tests deionized water, 0.01 m, 0.6 m, 2 m. The salt concentrations help the liquid limits of kaolin and bentonite decrease, but those of diatom slightly increase. The silica silt and mica show minimal changes in liquid limit due to salt concentrations. Accordingly, compression indices of soils follow the trend of the liquid limit as the liquid limit determined the initial void ratio of the consolidation test. Diatoms are more likely to be broken than clastic sediments during to loading, and diatom-rich sediment is therefore generally more compressible than clastic-rich sediment.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2015.10a
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• pp.411-414
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• 2015

The purpose of this study is to conduct a comparative analysis between Korea and the United States of the supply process of unit modular housing at both the factory production phase and the transportation and lifting phase, as part of an attempt to invigorate the unit modular housing market in Korea. Unlike the practice in the United States, one of Korea's unique characteristics is that the floor is constructed with reinforced concrete and hot water heating system. To do this, the wet method in Korea is used that includes concrete placement, curing and constructing hot water floor heating system at the factory production phase, which results in a longer production time and also requires the lifting of heavier loads. In the United States, interior and exterior finishing works of modular housing are performed by different companies, and the distance between the unit module factory and the construction site is quite far. This kind of dualized production structure may cause confusion when it comes to schedule management, procurement management, and stock management. Moreover, problems caused by external environmental factors such as wind and rainfall were reported in the course of long-distance transportation. The results of this case comparison are expected to provide fundamental data that will reduce the amount of trial and error in the unit module production, transportation and lifting work in Korea, which has a comparatively small number of unit modular housing cases.

• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.149-153
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• 2023

In this study, structural design and analysis of a duct stand for blowers were performed. This structure was an axial fan and blower for wind tunnel of the vehicle environmental test chamber. The design of the blower duct stand support structure was performed by investigation on various loads. Additionally, self-weight of the motor and weight of the duct were investigated and applied. The duct stand structure was designed by analyzing the load. The safety of the structural design results was evaluated through finite element analysis. Finally, the safety of the design result was verified.